How To Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries Microwave

Can you melt chocolate in the microwave?

Microwave –

• Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals.
• Stir chocolate in between each 30 seconds so all of the chips are just about melted.
• Continue to stir until the last remaining pieces have melted.

Do you add butter when melting chocolate?

Add in butter for a richer melted chocolate. Cut up the butter into the same size as the chips so it easily melts. Melt your chocolate on the stove, and when you are done, and while it is still hot, add in the butter and stir it in until it fully melts. Add in one tablespoon of butter for every cup of chocolate chips.

Is it better to microwave or boil chocolate?

Melting chocolate is a basic skill that every cook should have in his or her arsenal. From chocolate-dipped pretzels to an indulgent, centerpiece-worthy Chocolate Torte, silky-smooth melted chocolate brings depth and richness to countless decadent chocolate desserts,

There are two primary methods you can use to melt chocolate: melting the chocolate on the stovetop by using a double boiler, or melting it in the microwave. While the microwave technique may be quicker, taking time to create a double boiler and melting the chocolate on the stovetop will ensure that the chocolate does not burn, resulting in an even melt with a silky-smooth texture.

In a pinch, however, the microwave technique will work—just be sure to closely monitor the chocolate and follow the instructions listed below. Burak Karademir/Getty Images

Why did my chocolate get hard in the microwave?

How to Fix Seized Chocolate can be difficult to work with – in its solid state, it is relatively stable but once it has melted, there are various ways it can go wrong. Perhaps the most common problem faced by budding chocolatiers is when chocolate seizes and forms into a dull, clumpy mass.

Overheating chocolate (anything over 46°C will do it), adding cold substances or getting any liquid (even a teaspoon) into melted chocolate can make chocolate seize up in this way because the sugars in the chocolate lump together and separate from the fat, rather than harmoniously melding together as happens in successfully melted chocolate.

But don’t despair! This chocolate can still be used (as long as it isn’t burnt) so don’t bin it immediately. If the chocolate has seized because it has been overheated, try stirring in a couple of pieces of solid chocolate (this will not work if the chocolate has seized from moisture).

1. Or adding fat to the chocolate can bring it back – the ideal fat to use is cocoa butter however if you don’t have any, try vegetable oil.
2. This fixed chocolate won’t create perfectly melted chocolate as it would have before but can be used to make ganache, or in cakes, brownies and cookies.
3. You can also make a chocolate sauce from seized chocolate by whisking in milk or cream.

: How to Fix Seized Chocolate

How do you melt chocolate in the microwave without it getting hard?

How to Melt Chocolate Chips –

1. Add your chocolate chips to a heatproof bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
2. Stir, then microwave for an additional 20-25 seconds before stirring again.
3. Continue heating in 15-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.

SAM’S TIP: As a general rule of thumb, always heat chocolate slowly. Heating too quickly or too much will cause your chocolate to become overheated. Overheated chocolate will be thick, lumpy, and very dull looking. Unfortunately, overheating is hard to come back from (I typically just toss my chocolate and start over when it happens).

What do you add to melted chocolate to make it harden?

Beta Crystals – Another way of making the chocolate hard is by using beta crystals that you can get from Amazon, This method is a bit more expensive but our favorite for chocolate tempering. Beta crystals are freeze-dried and tempered cocoa butter. To use beta crystals to harden your chocolate:

Use 2/3 of unmelted chocolate Heat it to 115 degrees Add the remaining amount of chocolate and agitate until the temperature sets at 95 degrees. Add beta crystals depending on the amount of chocolate (one tsp of beta crystals for seven ounces of chocolate). Keep stirring systematically until the temperature drops to 79 degrees.

Adding beta crystals which are basically dried cocoa butter, will allow you to melt the chocolate quickly to make the final product that will harden the way you want it to. Once the process is completed, you must test the temper the same way we did before.

How long will melted chocolate take to harden?

Final Notes on Hardening Chocolate and How Long it Takes – Chocolate typically takes about 20-30 minutes to fully harden and set at room temperature. By placing your melted chocolate in the fridge, you can cut these times in half, speeding up the hardening process.

Although using a freezer can harden chocolate more quickly, it may cause blooming, resulting in discoloured chocolate. White chocolate generally solidifies more rapidly than milk or dark chocolate, setting in around 10-20 minutes. On the other hand, milk and dark chocolate usually take 20-30 minutes to harden.

All of these times will vary depending on which type of chocolate you are using, the type of application and how thick it is. So be sure to check the progress of your chocolate hardening to consider these variations. And don’t forget to take a look at this link for the perfect cooking chocolate product.

What happens if you add water to melted chocolate?

Aside from wanting to know if there is a piece of equipment that can be used in lieu of the Melangers to refine chocolate, my most common question is about water and its place (or lack there of) in chocolate making. Usually this train of thought goes hand in hand with the Melanger question and goes something like this.

“If I use just a little bit of water, shouldn’t I be able to dissolve the sugar and mix it with the chocolate and then I don’t need the Melanger?” Variations of this are “can I use honey, or agave syrup or something like that?” My basic answer to these questions are “No, it just doesn’t quite work that way.

If you add water to chocolate in general it will seize and you will end up with a thick fudge like chocolate product, but not really standard chocolate than can be tempered”. I have posed this question to a few other people just to make sure I was not missing something.

So, here is a bit more of the specifics of why you really can’t add water to chocolate successfully. – If there was any practical way to get water into chocolate, it would be done commercially on a mass basis. Water is cheap and nutritionally perfect. Water in a chocolate system raises a lot of complex concerns: 1) Blending water and oil means you’re making an emulsion.

This means the opacity of the chocolate and viscosity will be affected. Think about mayonnaise.2) Cacao is a rich source of insoluble but water absorbent fibers (cellulose, primarily) which tends to cause the particles to draw in the water and swell up, further disrupting the texture.

1. The cacao particles then tend to push away the cocoa butter.3) Adding water means many new enzymes that were perhaps previously inactive due to lack of water can become active – remember, many enzymes work in non-aqueous systems with as little as 3-5% water.
2. Adding a large amount of water (or water in the absence of sugar) could lead to issues with water activity and microbial concerns.4) The presence of liquids will weaken or disrupt the tempering process and alter the texture of the cooled product.

Depending on the amount and size of the water droplets, this can vary from making the chocolate softer to totally crumbly and impossible to temper to making ganache. Adding emulsifiers can help blend the water with the oil better, keeping it in smaller particles.

This helps reduce problems 2 and 4 a lot, but tends to cause an increase in the viscosity of the system, potentially worsening problem 1. For these purposes, lecithin is an alright emulsifier, PGPR works even better, and there are tons of there emulsifiers out there (mono & diglycerides, datem, etc. come to mind as solid water in oil emulsifiers).

If you can add the liquid directly to the fat and emulsifier and blend agressively, sans cacao solids, it is better as you break the water up into smaller particles. Using liquids that are mostly dissolved solids is also a good move, as they are slightly less lipophobic.

This is where corn syrup, honey, etc. come in. The added viscosity also can tend to make the solution more stable, by interfering with surface tension and making it more difficult for droplets to re-agglomerate. Just think about trying tomix honey and butter versus water and butter. But, bottom line, it IS possible to make a sort dark chocolate like substance using something like a thick agave syrup.

You use a lot more cocoa butter and not too much agave syrup, and the end chocolate is softer and doesn’t develop a true temper/snap as you’d like. but it DOES work, and it sot of tempers. The same concept applies to any kind of similar syrup. The trick is careful incorporation, not using too much and understanding that the chocolate is going to be fundamentally different in nature.

You also want to use plenty of lecithin here. A few extra emulsifiers added could help yield a bit more stable product, but it’s not going to really perform any kind of magic. A few companies have been experimenting with ways to make 1 micron and lower sized micro-droplets of water into chocolate, but that water is entirely “locked away.” That means it is totally invisible in every way and offers no functional benefit except fat reduction.

The commercialization is only starting on these technologies, and the cost may never be very low.

What does melted chocolate not stick to?

How to prevent chocolate covered items from sticking to the cooling rack? The simple approach is to skip the wire rack and place the dipped confections on parchment paper, waxed paper or a silicone mat. (Some use plastic wrap or aluminum foil, but this may stick as well.

• Oiling helps.) After cooling, they should come off easily.
• However, there’s a chance of them developing “feet” when the runoff pools on the parchment, especially if the coating is on the runnier side.
• If you use a rack (which reduces the “feet” by letting the excess chocolate drip down), you should lift the creams up once they have mostly, but not fully, solidified and transfer them either to the above mentioned parchment or a clean spot on the rack.

You can also oil the rack very lightly, but the effect is not too much. In any case, make sure you let all excess chocolate drip off well before actually placing the creams on whatever you choose for the cooling phase. : How to prevent chocolate covered items from sticking to the cooling rack?